CHARLOTTE, NC — A draw did it.
On Saturday afternoon at the Queens Sports Complex, the Bellarmine University men's soccer team punched its ticket to the ASUN Tournament with a 1-1 stalemate against the Royals.
In the first season under
Matt Cannady, Bellarmine (7-3-5, 2-3-3 ASUN) kept its perfect streak of earning ASUN Tournament bids intact, as the Knights are now 7-for-7 since entering Division I. Bellarmine secured the five-seed and will face fourth-seeded Stetson in the quarterfinals at 7 p.m. (ET) Saturday at top-seeded North Florida, which garnered a bye into the semifinals.
Bellarmine did have to play the waiting game Saturday night, as three different matches — all with postseason implications — took place in the evening. The ASUN made the official announcement that the Knights were in after Jacksonville defeated FGCU 3-1.
Bellarmine took a 1-0 lead against Queens (4-10-3, 2-3-3) in the 36th minute on freshman midfielder
Nathan Krall's third goal of the season. Junior midfielder
Kanata Taira connected with him inside the box. Krall cut toward the middle and slotted a shot inside the far post from 9 yards out.
Bellarmine maintained the lead into halftime and deep into the second half, further gaining an advantage when a Queens player was issued a red card in the 71st minute. Despite playing a man down, the Royals managed to control the ball and continue attacking. They broke through with three minutes left on Luis Vera Mayorca's eighth goal of the year.
Queens finished with a 9-3 advantage in shots, including 4-1 on goal.
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